Fri. 30th Oct – midnight

Tonight we had “Haven’s Got Talent”. I was delighted to be asked to be backing singer to Sarah (the Water Girl). If Carlsberg did water girls…

The fact that we did it in drag wasn’t a problem either. Jerry Pat said “We wouldn’t do this at home!”

Mike wants to say “Hi” to Shane. He’s sad that Gizmo the dog got killed too. We hear a lot about you at work, Shane. Mike really loves you. You and I are both lucky to have Mike, he really is a great guy.

I still have one whiskey bottle to give away. It was close, but I’ve decided to give it back to Leslie. He started Haven and gave me the opportunity to experience this massive adventure, Declan you are capable of scoring your own whiskey, you got a ride in a helicopter, for f**ks sake and Mike before this night is through, we will probably share a bottle. So Leslie it’s yours!

I want to take this opportunity to mention my good friend Jimmy. I didn’t mention you in my blog all week, but you know where you are up there looking down on us that you were never out of my mind. May you rest in peace. I’ll never forget the good times we had together.

Tomorrow we leave, 41 houses completed. We were never going to fail with myself and Declan in charge. Will we all meet again? I don’t know, but I know there is life in me yet and I would like to thank each and every one of the volunteers for making this project work.

And Deirdre thanks again. I hope you get to meet Theresa too, she is even better than you think in real life!

Mom & Dad, Frank, Eileen & Margaret, my family before I met Theresa – thanks for your support forever.

Theresa, Jack, Luke & Adam and my little princess Kate, it won’t be long now before I’m telling ye all the stories face to face.

Xxxxx

John

PS Bu the way, the toilets in the school will be built. Hugh will be looking after it. The actual spec and budget have yet to be decided.

And the bottle of whiskey never made it back to Leslie – John and Paddy opened it together and where it finished…. No one knows.

John O’Connor Fri 30th Oct 3:45 am

This whole trip is such an emotional roller-coaster, sometimes I want to get off, to jump off, sometimes, I wish it could last forever.

I must say I have enjoyed every single moment so far & I wouldn’t change a thing. I gave Badger a bottle of whiskey. He’s been helpful and given me good advice and I gave one to Alan McKenna too and got a chance to tell him what I thought about his kitchen etcs, I enjoyed that.

I must give one to John Henry too, head of security – very helpful also – and Gerry from logistics. I should have asked for more than six bottles. Everyone has been so kind.

I want to wish all the best to my leaving cert class of ’84 who are having their re-union this weekend. Obviously, I won’t be there.

Before I forget, I must really thank Deirdre for typing out my blog for me…. Why don’t you write one of your own next year. Ha Ha!

Hi to all at home. Are ye going to the rugby tomorrow?

“If Carlsberg did builders, then Marcel would be one” – quote from Ronan Clarke

Deirdre Conroy Haven Blog Day 5 - 29.10.09

It’s 3pm Friday afternoon and hard to believe it’s our last working day. There’s a big push on to meet our target and even getting to write this blog has had to be postponed. I’ve been on site for nine hours, and with rest breaks needed for just that; thinking, never mind writing is a challenge. My roommate and I agree that we have reached the point of being truly mingin’, nothing else can describe the grime encrusted skin and we don’t understand how aid workers manage for months in this heat and these conditions. Though what has been done this week would never be undertaken under normal circumstances, twelve new houses have been fully completed from foundation on Monday and the other 188 houses are being finished out and painted as I write. A playground has been built and must be the only place with swings and slides in northern Haiti. The new class room is built and painted, the basket ball court finished, mango trees planted. Hundreds of locals have come on site this week and worked alongside us, ate alongside us, and last night danced and drank alongside us. A popular Haitian band with their voudou priest lead singer rocked the place and we must be acclimatising as the party went on until at least midnight. Everybody is quieter today, more to do with the pressure of finishing off and getting the site ready for handover to the beneficiaries tomorrow.

Before the band came on last night I had been on catering duty, not, I hasten to add, doing anything creative in the kitchen. It gave me a chance to see the volunteers from the other side of the counter. Standing in one spot for two hours dishing out carrots and peas, rhubarb and custard is definitely more painful than holding the paintbrush. Alan, our Marco Pierre White, took me out to see his own secret haven, the cold store container, a great chill out moment. This is where he stores his chicken sourced from Santiago in Dominican Republic and meat from Miami, and his deadly doughnuts. He has taken three weeks annual leave at his own expense to come out here and get the kitchen built (which will be a community centre when we leave). He designed it, sourced the equipment himself and unpackaged the units the night we arrived and was setting it up overnight in time for our first breakfast. Earlier in the year he visited Santiago as it turned out to be the best source of food and his suppliers there were so impressed with the project that much of the produce is supplied at cost.

Before going on catering duty I went off-site and off road with John Henry, head of security, who drove myself and three of our volunteers from Portlaoise to visit families way off the beaten track. First we drove to the border and as it was still daylight we got out and walked the no-mans land between Dominican Republic and Haiti. Divided by a bridge over the river, the border closes at certain times during the day so we have to time our crossing on Saturday to ensure we get through. This procedure involves our luggage being loaded on to a truck at 7am tomorrow and taken to the border to be individually inspected. Our big box of passports goes on ahead of us and we will then be inspected one by one on the bus, movement is not easy between the two countries, where little love is lost between the two sides. When the border gates are locked we see the Haitian people wading back from Dominican Republic through the river, where they wash clothes, and bathe as well. It is a sight I didn’t expect to see in a region so close to the ‘developed’ world. We drive back through Ouanaminthe and over fields to some ramshackle homes where we can distribute some of the gifts we have brought and I have managed to find some local gourde currency from our on-site phone top-up men, so we can leave a little help behind.

I haven’t mentioned the medical team so far, thankfully, I haven’t had to visit them and there hasn’t been an ambulance moment yet. The worst cases have been serious spider bites – two guys got bitten and had dramatic reaction. The danger about this site, over and above the insects is that it was land which had been used as the local latrine, and while earth has been moved and layers and layers of soil has been added, with all the new digging going on, we have to be more vigilant about cuts and bites. The advice we got about thick socks and boots all makes sense, though the head torch we were advised to buy luckily hasn’t been needed as the generator is not switched off at night time, though it has just exploded a few minutes ago and is causing a minor sensation outside. Tonight’s barbecue and Haven’s Got Talent is looking dubious until the back-up is sorted, the internet connection is down too ..... and with that, I am heading back to my painting team to finish off the last few walls and rehearse our performance for tonight, where there will be fierce competition from Ronan, Plumber in Chief... more soon

THOMAS GABRIEL'S BLOG -day five and day six

Thomas Gabriel Blog

Day Five

Today consisted of another early start with a concerted effort to bring the classroom and basketball court to a timely conclusion. I was reminded of those make-over TV shows where some part of a house is radically changed by a team in a very short period of time. I have always suspected that a swat team is available to come in and make sure that things are done in good time. No such luxury exists for us. Most of what has to be done is completed by sheer brute effort and Irish ingenuity – and we have both in plenty!! By lunch time (on a day that impossibly seemed even hotter than yesterday) the project was almost complete. There remains a lot of tidying up and cleaning tomorrow but our efforts allowed a number of the team to have lunch, shower and head off to Cap Haitien for a meal. En route we stopped off at an experimental renewable energy project called ‘Jatropha Pepinyte’ which is being lead by an energetic American woman and which has some Irish backing. Jatropha is a tree that is native to Haiti. Simply put (and it is a bit more complicated!), the nuts can be pressed to produce a bio-degradeable diesel oil. The husks can be turned into charcoal – a basic cooking fuel in Haiti and the residue of the nuts have the potential for very high levels of protein similar to soya. The hope is to have the facility running at a commercially viable level within four years. You have to be thankful for the commitment of some people – they work in such difficult environments and for very selfless reasons. I hope that Jatropha Pepinyte succeeds. It was another ray of sunshine in what could easily be seen as a dismal backdrop.

The drive into Cap Haitien was exactly what you might expect in a country that is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Lots of poverty, lots of poverty and then there was also a lot of poverty. Once in a while we would see from the window of our bus some incongruous house behind high walls and barbed wire – but they were very much the exceptions. Cows that looked half-starved wandered in fields, dogs wandered the streets – though as someone pointed out, we didn’t see any cats. I am guessing that the restaurant, which was really an enclosed courtyard, was one of the best in the town. The meal, which included ice cream(!!!) was delicious. I’m not sure what I had though I did stick mainly to the vegetarian and discovered a very spicy side dish that looked like coleslaw and tasted like pure chillies!! I confess to going back for seconds of rice and the side dish and hope my room mate sleeps heavily tonight.

One of the sideshows that we’ve had whilst we’ve been on site has been the spectacle of an electrical storm in the mountains every evening. Our dining area is an enormous marquee that is open on both the long sides (with the catering at one end and and a stage at the other). Those of us who sit to one side of the dining room would see the lightening over the mountains to the south east. No thunder, just lightening flashes. A bit like a scene from Close Encounters!

Over lunch today, we talked about injuries and ailments. I’m happy say that most of ours have been fairly minor. I have blisters and a fungal infection of my right foot which I hope, finally makes me a fun guy (funghi) to be with. The doctor told me that many of us have the same condition – brought on by the heat and humidity. We will be walking away from it soon and yet the locals remain.

After lunch I took the opportunity to check that my ESTA form for return to the US had been completed as I hope to travel back to New York with the team (rather than on a later flight). As I talked with Marguerite I noticed two of the bedrooms filled with things from soap to blankets and from colouring books to Wexford Jerseys. She confirmed that everything in those rooms had been carried in by the volunteers. I was again lost for words over the generosity of spirit and greatness of heart that I witnessed. That generosity of spirit continued. Over lunch yesterday Jerry said to Brian that the school toilets (which are holes in the ground within concrete buildings) ‘could’ be properly plumbed but that it might involve significant drilling. The cost? Several thousand dollars. Hugh made an announcement to the whole group that a voluntary option to donate would be opened for those who wished to donate. I’m not going to say the amount raised in less than 24 hours from within the team – I’ll leave that to PR. All I know is that on this Thursday night as I sit here aching, tired, footsore and in desparate need of a cup of tea – I feel bloody good to be a part of this group.

Oh – and by the way, I managed to carry a bucket of water the way the locals do, on my head. Not an easy feat, but as a result I did notice the woman selling the tortilla cakes to the children who formed an orderly queue to pick up their snacks from her. Left me wondering how she secured her prime location ‘pitch’!!

Thomas Gabriel day 6

To plagiarise the book of Genesis: by mid-afternoon on the sixth day, the team looked upon the work that it had done and saw that it was good. I think all of us felt a great sense of achievement that the project turned out so nicely. The painters had transformed the look of the classroom and basketball court. The team appointed two, or perhaps five willing gardening consultants from within the team, to advise on what features to make of the final boulders we needed to tidy away. Talk of a water feature was discarded given the lack of water and we all agreed to the suggestion that the boulders be used to create a verge along the lower bank of basketball court support mound – if pictures of it are available, you’ll see what we opted for. A number of us did privately suggest to the retired lawyer who had come up with the idea that he doesn’t try to launch a new career!

Our day on site pretty much ended with all of us wanting to have group photos taken. This we did and also had group photos taken with the children who had stayed to watch. Egged on by the group to ‘christen’ the basketball court, your intrepid blogger set out to score the first official ‘basket’. With another team member, we took on two Haitian school children of about 10 or 11 years old. Being in extreme danger of losing to them, we resorted to the team motto of ‘sheer brute force and ingenuity’ to ensure that we finally managed to score before almost collapsing in the heat!

Just before lunch, three of us volunteered to help out in the kitchen for thirty minutes. I arrived to learn that I was to prepare 750 potatoes for the barbeque evening. My thirty minutes went on for almost three hours and I returned to site long after the others and long after the roving helicopter had departed (it was there to do some filming).

Tonight, we have ‘Haven’s got Talent’ – a show, where each team is to entertain the assembled masses! I’ve been told by Trish, our team leader, that a few of the team are going to dress up and do some dancing. Now – extrovert, we all are, but dancers? I think this will be a case of back to the team motto – sheer brute force and a staggering amount of Irish ingenuity!!!!!

Tomorrow, after breakfast, we have a ceremony where each of five teams will ‘hand-over’ a house. Having seen the sorts of houses the families are moving from – I know that this will be a highly charged and emotional event. I’m moved to tears just thinking about it. Finally, the whole 260 of us will go to the school to hand over the new classroom and basketball court. Lunch follows and the long journey home commences. I leave the group on Sunday and will not return to Dublin until Tuesday.

I may have already mentioned that I’ve written this journal offline and I’m not clear about what arrangements will take place tomorrow night – so this could be my last entry. All week, I’ve struggled to avoid referencing individuals. I thought the ‘project’ was bigger than the people. However, I can’t not mention them – my only fear is that with my appalling memory for names I will miss one of them. I ask forgiveness if due to pressure of time I miss someone. It is completely unintentional – a product of my inability to recall names. I have to have this finished before the show starts.

Mike is the team leader of the capenters and he allocated a number of us to the ‘school project’. For doing that and for being a very capable leader, I thank him!

Trish is our project leader. A woman of warmth and infectious enthusiasm. John is her colleague from the school at which they work and he is a quiet-(ish) team member who just gets on with what has to be done. John from Longford has a staggering work ethic – none of us could find the Duracell batteries that must be keeping him going. The other Johns with us are also great fun – John Mc is always particularly friendly and welcoming to people as are his buddies Emmet & Nico. I enjoyed their humour and banter! We had two Ciarans one quieter than the other but neither so quiet as to be ‘shy and retiring’. Owen endured a great deal of pain to nail down the roof in blistering heat – another true grafter. Actually, as Brian said at dinner tonight, the whole team gave 100%. Brian is a man I could work for again quite happily. He put in a lot of work and also looked out for those who might struggle.

I thank Seamus and Finbar for their good humour and company on the many, many journies down to the well. Emma the journalist just didn’t know when to stop working and would throw herself into any manual task with vigour. Susan the accountant did not shy away from work and I saw Susie and Rosie trying their hands at bricklaying and plastering! Jerry, the butcher from Cork deserves great success in his business for the sheer energy and good humour he brought to the team. Patrick H is one of the quickest wits I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with (and he and Olive make a great pair!). John the Bandana is a foreman who really keeps the momentum going and Sean, the Garda was another team member who really delivered the goods. Mention should also be made of the headstrong Rhonda, physio Louise, Ruth H - another team leader, Paul the builder and of course UCD Paddy - the gentle giant. I'd also like to thank my room-mate, painter Ken from Dundalk.

All of them a great bunch – and even better, the fact that they won’t get to read this till after we’ve done some more ribbing! I know I’ve left out two people but pressure of time is causing me to blank L

I have a strong feeling that I will be back to Haiti again next year – I know that a few of the others feel the same way. We KNOW, we have made a small difference. We KNOW that what we have done will very significantly improve the lives of a few families – and for that, I think we all feel pretty good tonight. On their behalf, I’d like to thank all those who provided sponsorship.

And just in case this is my last entry, I’ll finish as I began this journal: this group WAS enthused, was “en Theos” this week. I saw it, I felt it, I experienced it and I know that through what we’ve done, the hand of God will touch the lives of many who are too poor to help themselves.

In the words of the late Dave Allen: “With that, good night – and may your God go with you”

John O'Connor Blog - foreman

George Hook has an amazing memory. I met him a few days ago and introduced myself, now when I see him he says, “John O’Connor from Kiseam, how are you”. Let’s see if he remembers me when I’m looking for tickets to go support Munster in the Heineken Cup Final next year.

I got two good pictures today. I actually caught Hugh and Declan working on site. I had to be quick to catch it mind.

Tues 10:15 – bedtime
I had a few beers tonight with my UN buddies camped outside my door. I enjoyed that. Deirdre Grant met me tonight, having read my blog and encouraged me to keep going. Now I think I’m suffering from writer’s block…. Or maybe it is the beer!
Goodnight all at home, please keep texting me

Wed 28th 4:30 am

Leslie Buckley came up trumps last night and delivered what I asked him for. 6 bottles of whiskey. I need them, not for myself, but as rewards for all the favours. I’ve received from people.

First bottle went to Marcel, the Haitian main contractor. He is just so obliging. He says he will come to Ireland some time to visit. I hope so. I’m sorry to hear that Leslie wasn’t feeling well last night. Exhaustion I think. He’s a nice man.
Thurs 29th Oct
I woke up this morning at 3:30 eager to get started. There is just so much to do. I really do love my job here. Though I do miss my wife and kids. I hope ye are doing what yer mommy tells ye to do. When people say to my wife Theresa, “How do you manage when he’s gone?” She jokingly replies, “It’s much easier when he’s gone, one less child to mind!” At least I think she’s joking.

Declan announced about the fundraising appeal for the school toilets last night and it was received very well. Within minutes about $6,000 had been pledged. These volunteers are just amazing.

We will raise well above the required amount and this is from people who have already burst a gut fundraising and working on this charity. It really was John Henry’s idea. He knew what he was doing when he took us to see them, we couldn’t possibly leave them in the condition they were in.

By the way, I found a tarantula in my room this morning. I think that’s a good luck omen. When I leave this site I hope that I can say I have made a whole bunch of new friends and not a single enemy. Life is short and we’re all here for the same cause.

Before I forgot I want to mention Maria – the Spanish Doctor – and Sarah – in charge of water. Both of whom are such nice and polite people, so obliging all the time.

It makes it easier that I have my ‘other family’ here – Mike Curran, Sean Horkan, Fifi O’Sullivan, Susan Doyle Kelly & Rosie Dawson. This is not our first overseas charity venture together and we look out for each other, so Theresa, Jack Luke, Adam & Kate, while I miss ye, I am not on my own.


People ask me on site what my bandana is about! John Henry, security, met me one day and the sweat was flowing down my face and into my eyes. He felt sorry for me and gave me the bandana.

It’s a great job. It’s breathable and absorbs the sweat. It’s also kind of intimidating looking. People are more in awe of me when I wear it! I left home (?) last night to go out, I forgot it and had to double back to put it on!

Thomas Gabriel Blog Day 4

As things have become more familiar, I have begun to register things that I had been vaguely aware of but which had not embedded themselves in my mind. There is a woman who sits on the hill between the classrooms and the well where we get the water for the concrete and the plaster. She has a baby with her and usually lights a fire on her arrival. Today I noticed that she cooks things that look like tortillas. These are then filled with vegetables.. I’m not sure if she is the equivalent of the ice cream van outside a school but the schoolchildren all pass her by at break time. When that first break is over she packs up her things and leaves. I’ll try to remamber to pay more attention tomorrow! The young children not at school were again around the well wanting to help load the buckets. It takes approximately 60 pumps of the handle to fill a bucket and we have been filling at least 80 buckets a day – having the children help from time to time in this heat is fun for them and a relief for us!I also noticed the ‘shacks’ across the road from our project. They look flimsy and very small. Today however, I also had an opportunity to visit some of the beneficiaries of the project.

I should mention in passing that a number of dignitaries visited the project today. Speeches took place and tours of the site were encouraged – but I will assume that all these things will be more appropriately recorded elsewhere. Back to the beneficiaries! These are families who live about 500 yards from the project in habitats set back from the road. All the volunteers are being given the chance to make these visits in small groups. The good news is that it allowed about 16 of us to finish early, get out of the sun and have a shower. The other good news is that it very forcibly brought home the value of what we are doing here. The first house we saw was an ‘upgraded’ existing home. This is a home where the residents want to stay where they are. I saw a wooden structure of two rooms and a veranda covered on one side with a low wall around the other two sides. This houses eight people. It’s erected on a concrete base. If I thought this house was bad, I had a bigger shock when we went to see a house from which a woman and her children will be moving to one of the Haven Homes. She lives in what I would describe as a mud hut with leaves for a roof. The floor was mud and the wooden upright slats were filled with dry mud. It did not look as though it would survive a heavy downpour. In these houses were also the very cheerful children who come to help us at the well each day. As we left, a group of about 7 children burst into spontaneous happy song and we all clapped along. I was moved to tears. I joined the dots and could see precisely what our efforts were going to help achieve. We may not be able to save the world or rid it of all it’s problems but we can try to do what we can – one house at a time, one step at a time. The point is – that rather than just talk, we have to ‘do something’.

After the emotional roller coaster that was the local housing, we went to an orphanage in Ouanaminthe. Down an alley off the main street we walked to an entrance covered with tarpaulins where another group of very cheerful children greeted us with songs and dancing. The orphanage houses 400 children and is run by a woman who oozes charisma. No parent could go into that place and not be moved. I don’t believe any person can be truly present in such a situation and not feel heartbroken. Whilst there was a lot of chat and banter on the way there, the bus was virtually silent on the return – each of us wrestling with our own thoughts and feelings.

So – with the back of the week now broken, it’s the race toward the finish line. The heat remains obstinately oppressive, the humidity is not helpful but the spirit of the teams is still high and unique lifelong memories continue to be created for each of the volunteers.

Deirdre Conroy Haven Blog Day 4 - 28.10.09

In the great white tented village where 300 hundred of us are fed and watered four times a day – all at the same time, the catering crew perform minor miracles with full Irish breakfasts and at least a choice of four dishes for dinner. Our Haitian co-workers seem to relish the bacon, egg, beans and sausage as much as our burly labourers. If we think it’s hot and sweaty out on site, the kitchen is even more gruelling in the heat. Ably patrolled by Sgt Alan McKenna on loan from the army aided by gregarious George Hook who doubles up as MC a lot of the time and the kitchen is given a splash of 4-star from John Brennan. We all started off with our own set of plastic bowl, plate, cup and cutlery, to be brought up every day and washed outside. By day 3 most of us are down to a paper cup and spoon. Way too many things to remember – I now realise why so many of my sons lunch boxes go astray. This trip may make me more understanding in many ways.....

In the evening when we think we will collapse from heat and lack of sleep, though I am managing to sleep through the cockerel now, or maybe the stock has depleted......it is in the big white tent that the table quiz, karaoke and general party pieces take place and, yes, the standard and content is diverse to say the least, but as I wouldn’t get up on stage in a month of Sundays, nor would my friend be persuaded to duet, I take my hat off to any who do. On Wednesday night our local workers were stunned in silence at the breadth of singing talent from their visitors – or maybe bewildered at our facility to sing everything from Elvis and sean nós, or maybe just thought we were all nuts.

I spent the morning painting at the back of the site alongside our UN patrol from Uruguay, who manfully watched over us making sure we didn’t miss a patch. Julio Iglesias is their local commander, I might add. This part of the site boundary overlooks tropical palms and we suddenly remember that we are in the Caribbean, other than the relentless sun beating down on our boot camp, there is little to remind one of the glamour and exoticism of Caribbean holiday life. If anybody came out here thinking it was a mini-break with some good works thrown in they will have been instantly disabused of the idea. Our outside loo broke yesterday, a truck ran over the pipe, even though my room-mate is (all names have been changed) Sheba, queen of the plumbers, it’s taking two days to fix, trenches have to be hand dug as we don’t have a mini-digger. But such is the democracy on this site, it’s pick a loo, any loo.

We have co-founder Carmel Buckley on our painting team, who is here along with her daughter, son and nephew. There are many family groups of father and daughter or son, husband and wife and various in-laws. All of whom will pack up – a lot more lightly – and fly straight back to Dublin on Sunday after 7 days of this marathon build. My room-mate and I hope to travel more lightly as well, although one huge mistake we made coming out sits taunting us every time we get back to our room, not one, but two copies of the biggest novel published recently, Wolf Hall, the Booker prize winner. We thought we’d be smart and read ahead for our book club (Double Dee Book Club has a facebook page). This book is not just a door stop it’s a door step and may well serve as a foundation stone out here.

We hear we are on target as of yesterday which is very motivating. As work gets finished in other areas, we have labourers from other teams joining the painters, the spirit of help and goodwill is endless. At our press conference yesterday, local and national Haitian politicians and NGO’s joined in embracing Haven’s initiative and it is not only the Irish who are working with this community, Jean Maurice from Port au Prince, a mango plantation owner, has donated hundreds of mango trees to create a sustainable income-generating business here. The Haitian speakers certainly make us feel welcome and we are reminded that the manner in which Lesley Buckley has handled the State structure in such a short time is all part of this success story. The plan is still to complete 200 before Christmas and double this for next year.

Deirdre Conroy Haven Blog Working Day 3 (28.10.09)

Really getting the hang of this deprivation now. No wardrobe crises to speak of, one Haven Painter t-shirt per day, site boots and shorts, life couldn’t be simpler and energy levels are stabilising. A chair has been appropriated from our mess tent and now we can take little ‘sitting in front of the fan’ breaks when it all gets too hot.

It’s Tuesday morning and after three hours on site I take a walk down to Mr Wilson’s school (for it is he who spawned this social housing idea with Leslie Buckley) to see the children at their 10 O’Clock break. Children of all ages in their formal and pristine uniform are out in the shade of the trees, performing their ‘drill’ which is one of their characteristic dance routines. My friend and I have decided they must have a few extra vertebrae as the girls would put Beyonce in the shade with their cool moves. The volunteers down in this part of the site are quite literally doing Trojan work; girls who haven’t lifted anything heavier than an emery board are mixing cement and hauling blocks in stifling heat.

The children love being photographed and seeing their picture on the screen, and again I am struck by their beauty and poise. I hadn’t realised quite how distant Creole was from standard French and it is with limited vocabulary that we try to communicate. As if one needed reminding, it is education that frees us and empowers us, and by extending this school and hopefully extending their education programme, it will give these children more hope and options for their future. Haven Partnership is also building a playground and basketball court here and all is expected to be finished by Friday, I think well done to these volunteers as I head back to my paintbrush and roller and a nice shady wall. On the way I notice the roofs have been fixed to a whole swathe of houses that were at foundation level on Monday, the masonry teams and those jolly plumbers and electricians are relentless and determined – to exceed their target and get some thirst quenching done in the late afternoon.

How the catering team rock up with their culinary creations every day is a minor miracle in this setting – I’m looking forward to my first dinner on site later in the day. And I will know more about the kitchen on Thursday when I’m due to do the dinner shift.

But before all that, a group of us is taken to see some of the houses that Haven have repaired for local people, and I am particularly interested in seeing these as it’s part of my work in building conservation in Ireland – the value of conserving vernacular building types and use of indigenous materials can’t be overlooked and I hope that these building methods can be sustained alongside the sturdier block built houses that we are providing.

The scale of the houses defies logic. Families of seven are sheltered in a two-room mud and wattle construction. Life is mainly lived outdoors though, resting in the shade, minding their children in the shade, cooking in the shade, everything is dictated by the climate. The house is for sleeping, but it is still undoubtedly restricted and lacking in any sanitation. The Haven houses will bring more than robust shelter to these people.

We move on into the local town to visit an unusual orphanage, a term that always evokes visions of misery and sadness. This is not a building but a temporary shelter and it is run by a very dignified and caring widow and mother of five children, Mauviette Toussaint. Here she cares for up to 400 orphans, spending every day finding food and temporary shelter for them. Once again, the children are eager to put on a dance display and love having their photograph taken. We can question the appropriateness of a group of grubby construction workers coming to view this spectacle, we certainly look incongruous and not a little awkward against the backdrop of the eager and inquisitive children, but there is no doubt in their faces that we are welcome and that our visit brings some hope, and some hope is better than none. Equally, I have no doubt that our visit and those that will be made by others from our site, will result in an appreciable change for this orphanage.

While we have all brought bundles of clothes and gifts on the plane, they will be distributed by a local community liaison, Farah, to ensure that there is fair dispersal. Our gifts will not be going to the beneficiaries of the houses; our visit has to benefit as many local people as possible. Though one plasterer has told me that his hawk and trowel is highly admired by his Haitian co-plasterer and they have been showing each other traditional plastering methods. He is looking forward to leaving it to him in an age old system of dispersing craft and skill across borders, the little organic exchanges here will be among the best things we leave behind.

Dinner was well worth the wait, more about that later......

Ends

Deirdre Conroy Haven Blog Working Day 2 (27.10.09)

The timetable looks daunting – our first morning we rise at 5.30am and finish at .4.30pm, in 42 degree heat! All this after the strain of shedding 6kgs of baggage at the airport - dispersing it in three carry-ons and hiding the evidence from the overworked and unamused check in staff, who don’t seem prepared for the extraordinarily benign and patient 300-strong queue of quiet enthusiasts heading to Haiti, I must admit I haven’t seen such a patient mile-long queue before either. It’s not several wardrobe changes a day that’s causing the excess, the men are all weighing their bags with trepidation too – we have all brought clothes and gifts for the local community and warned of the exorbitant excess charges, we are all conscious of the irony of wastage at this point.

The day just got hotter and hotter, but we are notching up a record number of houses in our painting team and with breaks and goodies provided by the catering team it’s not so bad. We might be the least technical bunch but our labour is in gleaming evidence hour by hour and we are nurtured constantly by the water bullies and minded by our team leader, Trish. The promise of a tour that evening to Cap Haitien and a creole restaurant seems to shorten my day. I am joining the plumbing and electrical team for this as my room-mate is their team leader and they’re rather a large group to manage all by herself - to say the least! Getting ready here is a no-nonsense affair, no mirrors, no chairs, no tables, no hangers. A bed and mosquito net are our best companions now. Showering involves considerable speed and adroit negotiating of the distance between our front door and the shower, as our house is in the high visibility zone of security, deliveries, basically everybody has to pass it.

We set off on the gratifyingly air-conditioned bus and first call is to Jatrofa Pepinye,(plant nursery) nearby. This is a humanitarian enterprise set up by a U.S. non profit organisation Partner for People and Place. Here they grow the native jatropha plant that thrives in this dry area and the seed of which produces an efficient biodiesel, and by-products of glycerine for soap. Haiti imports 65 million dollars worth of diesel, if it could grow enough of this crop, through socially co-operative means it would be obviously transformative. We learn that Ireland’s Ernst and Young entrepreneurs of the year award-winners have been coming out to Haiti as part of a social entrepreneur programme, looking at projects like this and providing not just financial aid, but knowledge transfer. Seeing acres of this crop and the simple workshop where the seed is processed makes sense of the impact and value of the entrepreneur awards and it slowly dawns on our group that we are part of a greater Irish extended hand across the ocean.

On to Cap Haitien, which I expected to be like a small Havana, though sadly not, as it has been destroyed four times in the last two hundred years. The ravages to its buildings are evident as indeed is the poverty of the street life, what is most striking though is the physical beauty of Haitian people, they each possess an extraordinarily elegant demeanour and poverty does not prevent them taking pride in their dress. Because of our numbers, security is high whenever we leave the building site, and it isn’t possible to wander around the busy and dark streets.

In the restaurant, which faces the Atlantic Ocean and must be one of the very few in this area I am sitting with one of last year’s entrepreneur of the year award winners, Stephen Grant from Birr, who tells me about another charity initiative (Soul of Haiti) he is working on in the south of the country, restoring an orphanage on Ile a Vache. He has brought an 11-strong group to Haven and is clearly no stranger to Haiti – and hard work – at this stage.

Our evening of creole food and local beers will no doubt be remembered well by the P&E team and their hard-working team leader.

More soon.....

John O’Connor – Foreman

John travelled in Haven’s advance party to Haiti to prepare for the arrival of 260 Irish volunteers for Build it Week. Below is his blog, starting on the day he left Dublin for the 4,000-mile journey to Haiti

Wed 21st October

I arrived at Dublin airport at 7:15AM this morning – first to arrive. Thanks Theresa x, Teresa & Margie for getting me there. I’m a bit nervous being a foreman and facing into the unknown so I size up the other trade foremen as they arrive.

I know Mike from Galway. He’s a good mate. We’ve worked together as volunteers before. How does he put up with me? I don’t know! In fairness all the foremen seem to be very sound lads. I’d say we’ll get on fine. I hope we can get the right balance of hard work and play and make this an unforgettable experience for us all.

Thanks to all the people who helped me fundraise at home and hi to all my family (especially Jack, Luke, Adam & Kate). See you soon

Fri 23rd October

Yesterday was another long day on the road. Having spent all day Wed in the air, we spent about 8 hours yesterday on a mini-bus. We went from Santiago to Puerto Plata then across the border to Haiti.

We me some of the Haven people yesterday. All very nice. The Haven house is a dive J Our little houses aren’t bad except the site conditions were rough. Four inches of rain fell on Wed so you can imagine. Olive Cummins seems very capable in her job. Our security team are big men, Steve, John & Greg especially!

I have showered just before I started writing this and the sweat is dripping off me as I write, and it’s only 5am. Breakfast is going to be peanuts and water – or beer (only joking) as Alan McKenna (a great chef) hasn’t the kitchen set up yet. Homer Simpson would love this diet.

Sat 24th Oct

Everyone is working very hard. Olive and Brian put in a twenty-hour shift yesterday. Brian McCarthy and Mike are trying to prepare the beds and nets.

Ronan is plumbing everything in sight. Ronnie is working with the JCB. Paul is all over the place and Michael is a great lad too. Declan is snagging everything. I hope the volunteers appreciate the effort all the lads are putting in.

The kitchen is nearly ready now and Alan really is a great chef! We still haven’t gotten around to getting a plan together for the new houses to be constructed next week, but it’s a blast and I’m glad I’m here. We will get there in the end.

Mon 26^th Oct – 2:45am

The large group of volunteers arrived last night. George Hook gave a speech that made us proud to be here and proud to be Irish. Things went well yesterday, we had out panic moments, but we got through it.

Finally myself and Declan (the other foreman) got to sit down for a few hours and draw up a schedule for the week ahead. If Brian Cowen needed a man to organise a plan to get Ireland out of the current recession, then he should talk to Declan.

Declan has brilliant organisation skills and never seems to panic in any situation. We are meeting at 6am to finalise a few things, so I’d better get some sleep.

It was nice to meet some old friends who arrived with the big group – they brought some supplies I was short. Thanks for that!

Hi to all at home again

Mono 26^th Oct – evening time

While I admire Declan’s organisation skills, he also admires my ability to source unavailable materials and tools on site…. Shovels, power saw, trowels etc.

Things are going well on site, very smooth for day one. I sat down with Leslie Buckley this evening and had a good old chat. I might keep him on again next year, if he plays his cards right/

Good night now, it’s 10pm, myself and Paul have cooked up a plan to get a head start in the morning.

Luke, don’t forget to feed princess.

Thomas Gabriel - Day 3
Day 3

The unfamiliar becomes familiar. The strange landscape is no longer strange. Our temporary resting place has truly become our temporary home. My walk to the Schoolhouse this morning seemed much shorter and today was a day when a form of madness took hold of the group. Given the brutal heat and humidity of yesterday, all teams agreed to start earlier today and there were two of us on site at 6am, moving trestles and generally getting ready for the day ahead. The team was driven. I don't want to name anyone in particular because everyone did what they could - but if I knew on Sunday what I know now and had the chance to pick the team - I wouldn't change it at all!!! We had a sense of urgency to get the back of the
project broken and through sheer hard work we made staggering progress. I estimate that I drank 10 litres of water on site (not to mention five cups of tea in the canteen and three cups of a re-hydration formula), yet I didn't need to go to the toilet!

We broke for breakfast at 8:30am and were treated to a dazzling display of dragonflies and butterflies dancing outside. I learned that yesterday the temperatures topped 42C (which is almost 108F - for those like me who still struggle with centigrade!). Today was hotter. The presence of armed security and UN troups was seen for what it is - a high visibility deterrent. By lunchtime the walls to the additional classroom were over three quarters complete. This facility will allow 50 children to stay on at school for an extra year without having to make the very long walk to the nearest alternative.
The basketball court was levelled, the gable wall completed by early afternoon and the concrete was spread across the first section. I am really proud to be a member of such an enthused team. Everyone has mucked in and given 100%. When a job is to be done, people would move from what they were doing to help. Whether it was shifting blocks by means of a human chain, taking scaffolding down, spreading rubble, fetching heavy water cans from the well
down the hill, going round the team to ensure that everyone was drinking water, we all did what we could.

One of the hardest parts of the day was the emergency request for those who had arrived for lunch to go back out into the midday sun and help move hundreds of bottles of water that needed to be put into the shade. We all trouped out and did our bit till the medics said that we had done enough and had to remove ourselves from the sun. When we went back inside, we were all ready for lunch and the break afterwards to avoid the worst excesses of the heat and humidity.
The catering is very good considering the number of people that are being fed. I have enjoyed all my meals - though of course, hunger is a very tasty sauce and
by dinner time, we were all ready for whatever was on offer. I will be very very surprised if I have not lost weight by the end of the week.

Tonight we have a table quiz - I'll go, and as with everything this week, I'll do what I can! Tomorrow, we have an opportunity to visit Ounaminthe village and the
local orphanage. I think that tomorrow, I shall cry.

Thomas Gabriel Day 2

Darkness descends on Haiti very quickly. There is no twilight worth mentioning and after our epic journey, most of us retired to bed at around 11pm. It was odd to be sleeping in a room that would next be used by the new owners of the house. The houses consist of three indoor rooms, an outside toilet and shower and a covered area outside for cooking. The houses have electric light, electricity points and running water in the toilet. They are basic – breeze blocks with a corrugated roof. When compared to the shacks we saw on the way in, they are fine sturdy buildings! Haven thoughtfully provided mosquito nets for the beds and electric fans to keep the air moving. I think most of us had a fitful night of sleep. With four adults sharing a house, there was little room for manouvre in each bedroom – about enough room for two beds and two suitcases. Between the jet lag and the humidity, the excitement and the strange location I think most us us woke at least twice during the night. The cocks crowed at 2am, 3am, 4am but I think they were finally silent when dawn came at sometime after 5am. One or two goats in the compound were also keen to have their voices heard which added to the background noise.

The first two hours of the first day were what I would call organized chaos, with people looking for their group leaders, taking instruction on what was to be undertaken and generally gearing up for the tasks ahead. I was allocated to a group who aim to build a classroom extension for the local school as well as erecting an outdoor basketball facility. The group quickly became a team and there were constant reminders to drink plenty of water. We are from all over Ireland and got down to the task in hand quickly and with intention. By lunchtime we heard that two people in another team were suffering the effects of heat. During the morning, I had an opportunity to visit other parts of the site – it was a beehive of activity everywhere, in spite of the sun! I know that I read about Haiti being hot. I know that during the briefing sessions, we were told it would be hot. But spending a day working under an intense sun was a very real but very rewarding challenge. It’s been very humbling to spend time with such committed and hard working people. Lessons learned from the day mean that we will aim to be on site by 5:30am tomorrow morning in order to take advantage of the relative coolness of that time of day. By mid-morning, the heat is likely to be unbearable.

The local children are fascinated by our presence and were all immaculately turned out in their uniforms. All the girls had lovely ribbons in their hair. They smiled and laughed a lot. It was good to realise that what we are doing will be of direct benefit to some of these children. The day ended with a chance to shower and then have our evening meal in the communal tent. The food has been very good so far – long may it continue!!

Tomorrow is likely to be another tough day but hopefully one that is as rewarding as our first day has been!

Deirdre Conroy – Haven Blog

House, Home, Haven - sanctuary and shelter, all those things some of us take for granted are brought into searingly sharp relief here in one of the poorest parts of the world, and the poorest in the western hemisphere. Curiously ironic that in a region with no electric power, sanitation or weather-proof housing, I have instant wireless network from my handy netbook and can write this blog. That part of the technological miracle is courtesy of the incredible organisation and energy at the Haven Partnership village on the outskirts of Ounaminthe in northern Haiti, where I am part of a 270-strong group of volunteers who, after an 18 hour journey yesterday are now out on site beavering away as construction workers for the week in 38 degree humidity. As I am part of the Painting team, our mission is to paint the external walls of the 2-bed houses that are already constructed. There is such an enthusiastic rush for brushes and rollers that we are taking it in turns - about five volunteers to one wall, One house finished in our first hour!

The landscape that unfurled itself through our 4-hour bus journey from Puerta Plata in Dominican Republic and onward into Haiti revealed startling contrasts, from lush and fertile hilly plains, with charming to not so charming colourful homesteads and well fed cattle to an arid wasteland, with makeshift cabins and streets lit only by the odd candle where locals gathered to wind down after the heat of the day. When we reached the construction site, we were welcomed with music and song by the local community and their children, for whom these 300 houses are being built, by now there’s no going back - it’s sleeping bags, mozzie nets and all home comforts a long, long way away. In fairness to the team out here though, with minute resources they have managed to provide us with the kind of shelter that will be a luxury to our beneficiaries.

Jessica O’Sullivan Blog – DAY 1

The eagle has landed! Almost a day after leaving Dublin we’ve finally arrived at the village we’re going to call home for the next seven days. To say it’s a shock to the senses would be an understatement but Leslie and his crew were here to welcome each of us with a smile and a handshake that said, ‘thanks for coming, we’re about to do something very special together’. The excitement brewing among the volunteers this evening is electric – George Hook gave a rousing speech that was worthy of a scene from Braveheart and it’s hard to believe that after 8 months of hard work fundraising we’re finally here in Haiti. Getting off the buses we were greeted by the wonderful people we are here to help. The local school children performed Haitian songs and dances for us and you’d have to be extremely hard of heart not to feel moved by their spirits – when I saw them it finally sunk in what we’re here to do. I could finally put a face to the people we were here to help and I’m looking forward to getting to know them and my fellow volunteers over the next seven days…

Thomas Gabriel’s Blog Day 1

A long haul flight is a long haul flight is a long haul flight. There is no real sense of the destination. However, spending four hours on a coach ride from Puerto Plata to Haiti, really sets the scene. At least three times we thought we had crossed the border: the roads would get worse, the housing would look poorer – but the shop and road signs remained stubbornly Spanish. When we finally crossed the border, there was absolutely no doubt that we had left what we thought was the impoverished Dominican Republic. The armed UN guards at the border may have been there to keep people out, or to keep people in. Then again, they may have been there to greet the Haven Convoy! The ramshackle housing that we passed from the border to our final destination was testimony as to why all of us had signed up for this adventure.

On arrival we were greeted by two groups of children who welcomed us with singing and dancing. It was very touching. It was their way of saying welcome and thank you to the group. It was a wonderful arrival. After locating our housing, and carrying our luggage up the dirt tracks, most of us felt the effects of the humidity (100%) and were in need of sustenance. Thankfully, it was available and so over food and drink we talked about the week that lies ahead. Arrriving in the dark after a journey that for some was almost 20 hours, it’s difficult to imagine what exactly faces us tomorrow. Hopefully the task will not of the magnitude of the spider that was seen in one toilet!

The group is filled with enthusiasm. I like that word. I learned last week in an Orthodox church that it is from the Greek, en Theos – ‘possessed by God’. A pleasant thought on which to end the day and a hope that it will still be with us till the end of the week. Looking around at the group, I suspect it that it will just continue to grow.

Haven's first ever Build it Week kicks off on Sunday 25th of October.

260 volunteers from every county in Ireland are bound for Haiti for a one week intensive build. They are aiming to build at least 40 houses in six days - a daunting task, especially in tropical heat with extreme humidity.

Find out more about these valiant volunteers as they struggle against the seering heat, the basic conditions and the mozzies! Follow our bloggers daily as they report from Haiti during Build it Week.